Former mayor denies links to corruption case

JAKARTA: The lawyers representing former South Jakarta mayor Ahmad Dadang Kafrawi on Friday denied prosecutors' claims that their client was involved in a corruption case over a land procurement project in Tanah Kusir several years ago.

"It is true that our client signed the procurement order but he had asked subordinates to handle follow through on the plan as his tenure was about to end," Erman Umar, one of the lawyers, told a press conference.

Erman said his client had also received approval from the City Council and city secretary for the procurement plan, rebutting allegations that the procurement had violated any formal bureaucratic procedures.

Dadang, who served as South Jakarta mayor between 2001 and 2006, was named a suspect by the Attorney General's Office last month for allegedly embezzling Rp 11.3 billion (US$1.24 million) during the process to procure a 12,800-square-meter plot of land to expand the area of the Tanah Kusir cemetery in June 2006. - JP